Dr. Porter is in the video at this site
Nurse Heather came into the exam room first and we talked about Jeff’s meds, his rash which is now mostly healed, and his blood counts - lookin’ good. Heather left the room to discuss Jeff’s issues with Dr. Porter, then they both came into the exam room and, again, we got sidetracked talking about Jeff. It wasn’t until the end of the exam when I consulted our list of things to discuss with Dr. Porter and realized we’d almost forgotten to congratulate him. He beamed with pride! Gene therapy is really promising. I hope one day it enables us to view bone marrow transplant as we view bloodletting today – barbaric and obsolete!
Dr. Porter added the antibiotic Bactrim and oral magnesium back into Jeff’s drug regimen. Both may cause diarrhea so Jeff can hardly wait to see what the next few days will bring. The idea is to get him back on oral magnesium with the ultimate goal of stopping the IV magnesium and fluids. Then, no more Hickman catheter! That will be awhile yet, though.
Neither Heather nor Dr. Porter made an issue of Jeff’s weight loss, another four pounds. He told the nurse who weighed him that he has been eating the same amount of food and cannot explain the continued weight loss - except maybe he is exercising too much! She laughed. When he got dressed this morning, he found a pair of pants he realized always fit a little tightly. Today they were very roomy but had less risk of falling off than his jeans.
Jeff is whining because his next visit to Dr. Porter’s office will be with Jackie for a bone marrow biopsy - and that visit will be after Labor Day so he doesn’t know whether he can have grilled food at the picnic! He’ll call the office sometime before the holiday to press for an answer to that burning question. Dr. Porter said he doesn’t need to see Jeff for five weeks! That is super news! He says Jeff may, however, want to follow up with the neurologist.
Our high school friend, Tim, was in from Texas to visit his parents and stopped to visit us. It was great to see him and catch up on the news. Tim asked questions about Jeff’s donor. We have been thinking of her lately and wondering how she is doing and, well, who she is.
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